The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-30
AZ OVATION TO THE JOSS.
A Bewildering Chinese Pageant in the
Streets of San Francisco.


SAN FRANCISCO, CAL, Sept. 8.-China-
town for two days has presented the largest
professions ever given here by the Celes-
tials. They were in honor of Tong Wong,
the presiding joss of the rich Wong Wo 20.
Many costumes aud banners were imported
from China and the great fish dragon, the
chief feature of the parade on Saturday,
cost 81 900 and was the labor of months.
The streets of Chinatown were hung with
banners. the store fronts were freshly
painted with vermilion, and the narrow
alleys were converted into covered lanes by
flags and oriental cloths stretched across
them
The advance guard Of the parade was
composed Of three dansels seated on pal
ffeTS, tneir silk robes reaching nearly To the
ground They were followed by members
of the company in handsome uniforms of
blue, then another detachment all in yell
low, all armed with swords and spears and
carrying banners twenty feet III height.
Then came tinsel pavilion with little fig.
ures running around the balconies, followed
by more members of the company on horse
back. and another troop OF ten dalnsels on
palfreys, and five wagons filed with young
men and maidens, each strapped to post.
These heralded the joss, who sat in a mighty
chair under carved ebony pagoda. Tong
Wong was mild looking deity, with long
moustache, but he was treated with great
reverence and borne along by twelve men,
and between each detachment came band
OF musicians, VINO rent the air with dis
cordant music of gongs, cymbals and ear
piercing one strnged fiddeS
Immediately after the joss came in guar
dian spirit the great fish dragon, whose
head was carried ON the top of a pole ten
feet high, and whose spangled and furred
body trailing behind like sea serpent for
l75 feet, was supported by sixty worship
ers, robed in punk and white. The mon
ster has three eyes, one foot in diameter
that stands out IRON his forehead, and one
on each side. Horns covered with silver
and several yards long, are as numerous as
the quilts of porcupine. The gaping jaws
opened at intervals, revealing hungry red
mouth, and huge tongue that rolls about
in threatening fashion. The long tail of
the monster kept moving up and down to
the right and left. After the great dragon
there came lesser fish, with a head like
that of rock cod, all mouth, with two
eyes that had an ugly fashion of winking,
with body of waving silk that was kept in
motion by four or five experts, a number of
priests with fans, banners and pavilions,
and then could be heard the sound of mar
tial music--a ponderous kettle drum that it
took two men to carry, assisted by a clash
ing of cymbalS
This introduced the rear guard, a battalion
blue, with yellow, bowl-shaped hats and red
plumes. These constituted an actual repre-
sentation of the army of the empire. Basket
and wooden shields painted with horrible
dragons and kissing lions formed their
means OF defense. With Steel-capped spears,
many pronged like quaint forks, comprised
their means of attack. 4 light blue banner
that fioated in the air as large as the jib of
the Volunteer, brought to an end the most
wonderful pageant that ever graced the
streets of San Francisco. The parade was
witnessed by thousands of white people,
and was repeated yesterday, when the exer
cises in honor of the joss came to an end.
GEORGE w. TITLow, the Baltimore grain man.
who has just failed because he was 'long" on
100000 bushels of wheat, expects to come
around all right He is said to have won and
lost a dozen fortunes in the past few years.
EVANGELIST MOODY has arranged for pro-
tracted revival in Montreal, commencing Oct 2.